Your Assignment: Write a screenplay for a comic strip in order to get practice writing for a visual and aural product.
Begin here. Check out this "For Better or Worse" comic.
Now check out the screenplay I wrote for it. MichaelsDelight0910.pdf
Notes
-I will go over basic shots with you in class to help you with nomenclature (nomen...what?)
-I treated the comic like a storyboard, and then I wrote the screenplay according to what I saw and what I heard in my head (as I read the comic). As you will find out, this is both a discovery process and a creative process. Good luck in your first screenwriting endeavor!
-When you read it, you will notice I took some liberties with what you see in the strip and what you will see in the film. I felt like these changes were necessary to preserve the humor and the ethos of the piece.
-You will also notice that I labeled Setup, Confrontation, and Resolution. It will not be so easy in later projects, but in this project, it is a good exercise to see how a story is divided. I will be interested to discuss it with you in class to see what you think.
Publishing Your Assignment For this assignment, please do exactly as I have done. Choose a comic that you would like to turn into a screenplay. It helps to choose one you know and like because you will have background knowledge that will inform your writing. On the assignments page of your wikispace, please place a link to the comic strip (or you may place the strip itself there, just be sure you cite your source in a caption). Then, begin work on your screenplay using Celtx.
Be sure to call all your shots, starting with the Establishing Shot. Think in terms of feelings. Use parentheses to help your talent, your cinematographer, and your director. When it is complete (and you have read it ALOUD), then go to your Title Page tab, fill in the necessary information, and then proceed to your TypeSet tab. There you will see the finished product which you can save as a PDF. Then, upload that PDF to your wikispace. Finally, send me a link to your page through the wikispaces mail system, voila, you are done. Let me know how it went in the body of your email if you like, and, consider uploading your screenplay to your Celtx account if you have created one.
Begin here. Check out this "For Better or Worse" comic.
Now check out the screenplay I wrote for it.
Notes
-I will go over basic shots with you in class to help you with nomenclature (nomen...what?)
-I treated the comic like a storyboard, and then I wrote the screenplay according to what I saw and what I heard in my head (as I read the comic). As you will find out, this is both a discovery process and a creative process. Good luck in your first screenwriting endeavor!
-When you read it, you will notice I took some liberties with what you see in the strip and what you will see in the film. I felt like these changes were necessary to preserve the humor and the ethos of the piece.
-You will also notice that I labeled Setup, Confrontation, and Resolution. It will not be so easy in later projects, but in this project, it is a good exercise to see how a story is divided. I will be interested to discuss it with you in class to see what you think.
Publishing Your Assignment
For this assignment, please do exactly as I have done. Choose a comic that you would like to turn into a screenplay. It helps to choose one you know and like because you will have background knowledge that will inform your writing. On the assignments page of your wikispace, please place a link to the comic strip (or you may place the strip itself there, just be sure you cite your source in a caption). Then, begin work on your screenplay using Celtx.
Be sure to call all your shots, starting with the Establishing Shot. Think in terms of feelings. Use parentheses to help your talent, your cinematographer, and your director. When it is complete (and you have read it ALOUD), then go to your Title Page tab, fill in the necessary information, and then proceed to your TypeSet tab. There you will see the finished product which you can save as a PDF. Then, upload that PDF to your wikispace. Finally, send me a link to your page through the wikispaces mail system, voila, you are done. Let me know how it went in the body of your email if you like, and, consider uploading your screenplay to your Celtx account if you have created one.
Some Student Examples
Collin
Nate
Madison
Sam
Steve
Jordan
Isaac
Jameson